It will not yet be summer, but the ferns will be up. We
will see a dozen or more common species and a club-moss if
we're lucky. Wear long pants for off-trail excursions, but
the bugs should not be bad yet, the poison ivy avoidable,
and the hike itself fairly level for the most part.

The Newton Land Management Committee has systematically
surveyed the city's open spaces to document the existing
biodiverstiy. In terms of ferns and realated plants
(pteridophytes) we have found 28 species and hybrids. Some
occur infrequently and are difficult to get to, and some are
very subtle to distinguish. We will provide an introduction
to some that are quite common and easily recognized with a
little practice.